Frider

PS I was expecting some delays due to COVID, but the pandemic is finished now…

I see some other websites estimate it takes 18 months for ROC in California. The latest estimate for my wife’s ROC is September 2024 which would make it 27 months from the date of filing. We will have been married 5 years at that point. You can view our timeline on my profile. Everything previously has been in a timely manner, but this ROC not so. I wonder if this big influx of illegal immigrants since Biden took office has anything to do with that. Seems like that just creates bigger delays for people who are trying to do things legally.

Put my receipt number into USCIS case status web page. Replied that petition was received on June 23, 2022 and receipt notice was sent. Tried to call USCIS and speak with a live person. Automated assistant asked me what the problem is. I said “did not receive official receipt notice”. The assistant asked me if the application was accepted. I said yes. And asked me weather it was sent to service center or lockbox. I said lockbox. Assistant gave me an email address to enquirer to. I was not allowed to speak to a live person.

My green card will expire 9/1/2022. Seems like that would be important enough to get a live person to speak to but apparently not. 
This website states it is taking 8 - 9 weeks for receipt notices to be mailed for some applications and petitions in 2022:

https://www.stilt.com/blog/2020/07/how-do-i-know-if-uscis-received-my-application/

Has anyone else experienced delays receiving receipt notices for I-751 recently?

My bank posted the transaction as USCIS Phoenix payment ARC with the check number and date but there is no photocopy of the check available online. This is the first time I have been aware of this horrible business practice and it’s no surprise that it comes from the US government (who else could get away with it)? I’ll try your advice if and when I try to call them next time. Thanks.

6/21/22 - I-751 petition mailed to USCIS In Arizona.

6/27/22 - received G-1145 E-Notification of petition acceptance.

6/29/22 - check for $680 was cashed.

Have not received I-797C in the mail as of 8/5/22.
 

Internet search on wait time states “Notice of Action typically arrives 4 to 6 weeks after filing”. 

Last time I called USCIS with a problem (January 2022), I spoke with an automated robot which messaged me a link with “information” and then hung up. Repeated attempts to speak with a human being at USCIS were met with the same result (hanging up).

Any suggestions how to find out the status of my petition?

Thanks Family. Makes more sense now. At this point the conditional resident is housewife and the American citizen/spouse is retired schoolteacher. We are living comfortably on savings, pension and social security, and buying a new home. So at this time employment is not a major concern as we are happy with a more traditional marriage.

I already have a big pile of joint financial documents to submit. Hard for me to believe that’s all they’re interested in. Does anyone submit 2 sided copies? My I-485 petition was 90+ pages, mostly one sided copies. One person on VJ claimed they were going to submit an I-751 petition weighing 3 1/2 lbs!

Quote re: payment fees are on page 2 of the I-751 instructions, so if it is incorrect USCIS needs to clarify it. Very confusing.

Found a good sample I-751 affidavit:

https://citizenpath.com/cpwp/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/I-751-Affidavit-Sample.pdf

Says it doesn’t need to be notarized.

Preparing to file I-751:

1) So the I-751 instructions says to include “affidavits sworn to or affirmed by at least two people…”

Specifically, do these affidavits have to be notarized?

Can the affidavit be from a relative in another country, or does it have to be from a US citizen/resident?

2) Instructions say “if you are the… lawful permanent resident spouse you do not need to include a biometric services fee at the time this petition is submitted…”

So just to verify, I do not have to include $85 with the filing fee?

Thanks in advance for any help.

My wife got her green card 9/1/20. Expires 9/1/22. Is it still good advise to file I-751 one year in advance? 

We were thinking of traveling to the Philippines 12/21 to 1/22, if the country is open with no quarantine by then 🤞. Is USCIC likely to schedule an interview during that time? We are living in the Fresno, CA district.

I read that it takes a year to schedule the interview and/or possibly they will remove conditions with no interview...

As I understand it, the Philippines is only allowing persons who have been vaccinated in the Philippines (about 1%) to enter their country with a 7 day quarantine in a government approved hotel. Persons from other countries, such as spouse of Philippine citizens still have to complete 10 hotel quarantine and 4 day home quarantine. Correct me if I’m wrong because the rules are changing daily...

So, persons who have been vaccinated with Sinovac which is about 56 - 65% effective will be allowed to enter, while persons who are vaccinated with Moderna or Pfizer which are about 94- 95% effective will be excluded. Presumably because Philippines is unable to verify who has been vaccinated in another country and does not trust the authenticity of foreign vaccination cards.

In checking back periodically to find out if and when I can schedule an appointment for my wife’s passport renewal (see my previous post),

I was surprised to find out their website is blocked (see screen shot). I tried using my cell phone and computer. It didn’t say they were down for maintenance either (see screen shot). Apparently I need to purchase a security plugin called wordfence for $99 annually, and then email the consulate so they can unblock me:

https://www.wordfence.com/help/blocking/troubleshooting/#what-is-wordfence

I tried to search for a free version of wordfence, but all I could find is what appeared to be a hacked version of it. Comments or corrections are welcome... 

Thanks for the advise. All of the outreach events were canceled due to covid. We did the report of marriage by mail no problem. I’ll keep trying to get an appointment in L.A. or San Francisco.

My wife’s Philippine passport expires January 2021. For 6 months I tried numerous times to schedule a renewal appointment on the Philippine consulate in Los Angeles‘ website but it seems they are always booked up. Some people were commenting on Facebook that they are booked up until 2023! 
She is a US conditional resident and does not need to travel on an emergency document and/or try to get a renewal in the Philippines. Does anyone out there have further information about this situation or a remedy for this problem?

BTW we had 1 week advance notice for this rescheduled interview.

Our interview was on Sept 1 and was approved. They are conducting interviews remotely. Total time about 45 minutes. The petitioners are in one room with web cam and the interviewer is in another room with connected device. Entire interview was video recorded. Left our supporting documents in a tray when we were done.

Should we try getting an I 551 stamp or just wait for the green card? I understand this requires an info pass appointment (and another 250 mile round trip to Fresno).

Interview is scheduled for 9/1. Just received the notice today.

Been checking our status online every few days for 4 months and August 18 it says our interview was scheduled. Waiting for USCIS letter to come in the mail. For the interview:

1) Check stubs - how many months should I include?

2) Do I need another verification of employment letter? (if so this will be the 3rd one, last one dated 10/19 ugh!)

3) EAD/AP expires 1/2021. Where do I download the forms to renew?

Thanks...

My wife and I have almost the same situation. She has her EAD/AP combo card. Our AOS interview was scheduled for 3/20/20 and was canceled due to COVID. Has not been rescheduled as of today. Her Philippine passport expires 1/2021. I spent several weeks working on and submitting our report of marriage by mail to the Philippine consulate in Los Angeles. Don’t know where you live but I suggest you find out where the Philippine consulate is for your area, and read the instructions on their website. I spent $200+ on notary, birth certificate, postage and application fees. We received the report of marriage, then the Philippine consulate opened 6/17/20. For several weeks I tried to schedule an appointment for my wife to renew her passport (must appear in person for that), but to no avail. The slots were filled and every day no appointment was available. Then this message appeared several weeks ago:

So at this point we are still waiting for an AOS interview appointment and a passport renewal appointment.
I’m reading in the news that the schools are supposed to open for full time in person instruction, while the rest of the “non essential” government offices and services remain closed to in person services. Totally unfair...

Posted a few hours ago:

https://vermontbiz.com/news/2020/july/21/projected-uscis-surplus-leahy-calls-postponement-planned-furloughs
 

This article was posted 4 hours ago:

https://fcw.com/articles/2020/07/15/russell-dhs-appropriations.aspx?m=1
Doesn’t say if it affects furloughs.

Why would someone want to spend $1600 on an engagement ring so they could have a fake photo of a hand with a different ring on it?

I had pictures and video of my proposal which formally occurred in a restaurant in front of many witnesses. Be careful not to have the appearance of a wedding reception. My K1 petition sailed through in record time. I would highly advise front loading your petition especially given the current situation with pending executive orders and pending USCIS layoffs.

This is posted under K1 visa procedures so I’m going to assume you got engaged. Was there an engagement ring? You can submit a receipt for that along with pictures of the engagement. This is mentioned in the VisaJourney K1 guide:

https://www.visajourney.com/guides/k1-fiance-visa/

I checked after June 4 and all of the California field offices were still closed. However, it appears they are now open. Apparently the only field offices that are still closed are in New York. I have been reading USCIS plans to furlough 70% of their staff in July. I wonder how many USCIS field offices will remain open after that?

Does anyone out there who’s marriage based AOS interview was canceled due to COVID 19 have a reschedule notice? Specifically, I’m interested in the Fresno field office.